


PE with Zack

by crookedspoon



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Crack Treated Seriously, Gen or Pre-Slash, Locked In, M/M, Minor Tifa Lockhart/Cloud Strife, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Roommates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-20
Updated: 2020-05-20
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:14:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,895
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24293422
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crookedspoon/pseuds/crookedspoon
Summary: Zack wants to bring the joy of exercise to the world. Cloud just wants to sleep.
Relationships: Zack Fair/Cloud Strife
Comments: 20
Kudos: 64
Collections: 1 Million Words' Weekend Challenge





	PE with Zack

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Neurotoxia](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Neurotoxia/gifts), [DivineSquishy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DivineSquishy/gifts).



> This was written for the prompt "Don't mind if I don't." from last week's 1mw [weekend challenge](https://1-million-words.livejournal.com/3088934.html?thread=24680998#t24680998), and to promote [PE With Joe](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLyCLoPd4VxBsXs1WmPcektsQyFbXTf9FO), following the realisation that Zack would absolutely love doing the workouts.
> 
> If you're reading this at a time when it’s no longer live, Joe Wicks began his daily weekday exercise programme in March 2020, in response to the lockdowns due to the Coronavirus pandemic in the UK. The proceeds from his livestreams and his t-shirt sales go to the NHS, so even if you don't like working out, please consider letting it run in the background while you do something else.
> 
> Just fyi, this _is_ a quarantine fic, but the circumstances are different from real life events, in case that matters to you. No illnesses are being spread or even mentioned.
> 
> Many thanks to Neurotoxia for the beta! <3

"GooOood morning!"

Cloud shoots upright with a shocked gasp. For a panicked moment, his hand blindly reaches for his rifle beneath the pillow – _keep your weapons close to you at all times,_ they drill into you at the academy: it could mean the difference between life and death on an assignment – before he remembers it's not there because he's not _on_ an assignment.

"Rise and shine!"

Cloud groans and lets himself crumple back onto the mattress.

Every day.

This happens to him _every day._ He should be used to it by now, but he guesses his body is just too exhausted to remember. 

"C'mon, Cloud, get up! You don't wanna be late."

"But I do," Cloud says in a sleep-rusty voice, barely getting the syllables out.

"How can you say that? It's PE with Zack time!"

"'s precisely why."

Zack's voice is entirely too loud and entirely too cheery for the early hour. Worse than the Chocobo alarm clock he had as a child.

For just a moment, Cloud nods off again. Or maybe he thinks he does, because Zack has gone uncharacteristically quiet. It has a worrying effect on Cloud. Zack is never quiet unless something's wrong... or he's planning something nefarious.

Cloud dares to blink open his bleary eyes – and regrets it immediately. Zack's face is hovering above his own, his excited grin as bright as the morning sun that's hurting Cloud's eyeballs. As quickly as he can (which equates to about the speed of a dying turtle in his tired state), Cloud draws his blanket over his head, effectively creating a barrier between himself and that radiant smile, and proceeds to groan some more.

"What's with you?" Zack demands and yanks the blanket from Cloud like it was a tablecloth in a magic trick. The ones in which all the dinnerware would stay on the table instead of crashing to the ground. 

Unfortunately for Cloud though, he's gripping the blanket too hard to remain undisturbed and finds himself tumbling to the floor from the force of Zack's pull. Such is the strength of a SOLDIER.

This is fine; he can just go back to sleep right here, he thinks as he curls up where he lies, defeated.

"You made it out of bed! That's step one. Now all you have to do is stand up. C'mon, that's not so hard now. You can do it."

"I'm still sore from yesterday's practice," Cloud whines.

Zack crosses his arms in front of his chest as he peers down at Cloud. "You know, you'll never make it into SOLDIER with _that_ attitude."

Cloud wrenches his head to the side, away from Zack's eyes. Doesn't he know it. He may be a cadet of the infamous Shinra Security Force, but he's weak and pathetic. No one may have so to his face yet, but it's clear they're all thinking it from the way they're snickering behind his back. 

He should have realised from the start that he set his goal of making Tifa notice him by becoming a SOLDIER way too high. The difference between him and Zack drives that home every day.

"Aw no. Don't look at me like that. I didn't mean that. We're here to train, right? We'll get stronger together. And then you'll become a SOLDIER in no time, you'll see!"

"We're not here to train," Cloud corrects him, staring up Zack vacantly. "We're quarantined."

"That doesn't mean we're not expected to keep in shape. We might be sent on a new mission as soon as we're cleared!"

"Maybe you will, but everyone knows I'm no good."

"Hey, that's not true! You can't think that! You just gotta prove them how wrong they are."

He offers his hand for Cloud to grasp.

"Right? C'mon, it's starting soon. I'll help you get in shape." His grin widens. "And if you're still sore after the practice, I can give you one of my special Zack Fair massages."

Cloud's eyes bug and he quickly looks away as Zack strikes a pose. A special massage? He's not talking about—no, he can't. Or could he?

"I–it's fine," he stammers and tries valiantly to fight down his blush. He can't wave it off as exertion _yet._

He jumps up by himself, not allowing himself to accept Zack's hand, even though every muscle in his body is protesting. There's no escaping Zack and his enthusiasm for working out, so he might as well join in. It's not like he would be able to go back to sleep anyway, not with the way his heart is pounding. And the way Zack is soon going to be cheering wildly.

Zack beams at him.

"There you go."

Initially, Cloud thought it was the coolest thing to get to share his quarters with Zack. A lot of the other Infantrymen would have killed to be in his position. Everyone seems to love and admire Zack, and he himself is no exception. Through his kindness and his chipper attitude alone, Zack has quickly become Cloud's hero, although there's no dethroning Sephiroth. Not that it's needed; Cloud looks up to them for different reasons and in different ways.

Cloud couldn't believe his luck to be the one chosen to shack up with Zack. Still can't, not really. (At least, the times he _does_ consider it luck.) It could have been any one of the gaggle of troopers – or even the Turks – that were with them on the mission. They'd all been exposed to the foul Odour this unknown subspecies of Malboro had sprayed them with, which meant they all had to be isolated for some time to study the effects.

Since their group had been so large, the quarantine chambers at Shinra Headquarters were not enough to house one of them per unit, so they had to double up. Since Zack was the only SOLDIER 1st Class on the mission, he could have elected to get a room to himself, but apparently he'd declined the privilege.

He even said it would be fun to live together. Much like a sleepover. 

A flash of heat shot through Cloud at Zack's choice of words, already imagining the both of them lying on their respective beds and exchanging whispered secrets until well into the night. He didn't know why, but the very thought of it made him feel embarrassed. Maybe because he's never _had_ a sleepover before.

What Cloud didn't imagine was a bootcamp every day at the crack of dawn.

Of course, he hadn't expected his quarantine to be like a vacation: he would have kept up his usual calisthenics. He didn't want to fall behind his training, after all. But with Zack as his coach, exercises that seemed simple and straightforward before were tweaked until they became absolutely brutal.

"It's starting!" Zack cheers and unmutes the widescreen TV that hangs on the wall.

On it, a livestream of an old man greeting his viewers is playing. Zack quickly types something into his PHS and gives Cloud a thumbs-up and a huge grin. Cloud flicks his eyes down.

Next to Zack in his SOLDIER uniform, Cloud feels somewhat naked in the t-shirt and boxer shorts he wears to bed. Too late to change now.

 _"Good morning everyone and welcome to PE with Zangan!"_ the old man intones and punches the air to either side of him. Cloud already feels drained by this display of energy so early in the morning. _"Thank you for tuning in! Today we're streaming live from Nibelheim, where it's still dark outside, as you may have guessed because of all the artificial light – let me know in the comments below where you're watching from and how you're feeling._

_It can be difficult to get motivated to work out when the sun is not even up yet. You may be feeling tired and groggy, but that's why we exercise. We'll get our body warmed up and the more we exercise, the more energised we'll feel, right? I promise you you'll feel better after this."_

"Hey, Nibelheim," Zack perks up. Up until now, he's been nearly buzzing out of his skin, excited to get their daily workout going, but now he channels that energy into genuine curiosity. "That's where you're from, right?"

"Yeah..." Cloud trails off as a pang of homesickness grips him. Homesickness and shame. What did he leave his home for, in the end? He still has nothing to show for it. And until he does, he can't even go back.

_"Another difference today is that I'll be joined by my new student, who will be doing the exercises with us. Please give a hearty welcome to—"_

"Tifa?!"

Cloud gapes at the screen. Sure enough, that's Tifa who's waving shyly at them through the camera. It's only been a year since he left, but she already seems so much more mature than he does, with her longer hair and her sporty outfit. But then again, she always had.

"You know her?" Zack asks. If his obsession with this programme is anything to go by, it's more than likely he's thrilled to know someone who knows someone who knows Zangan.

"We grew up together."

Zack's expression turns sly. He slides over to Cloud and nudges him in the ribs with his elbow.

"You two childhood sweethearts?" he teases, his grin perhaps the biggest Cloud's seen yet.

"It's not like that," he mumbles and turns his face away, fingers twisting into the hem of his shirt. "We were just neighbours, that's all."

"You say that and yet you're blushing," Zack keeps teasing him, relentless as ever. "Sure there wasn't more to it?"

"I'm sure."

"Oof, sore spot, got it."

Zack moves over again to give him some space and begins twisting from side to side, as though he's so finely attuned to Zangan's practice that he already knows what's coming without even paying attention to it.

_"We'll start with a couple of warmups and do some shoutouts. Tifa, what have we got?"_

Cloud heaves a sigh and joins in, pushing through the soreness of his muscles. He kind of wishes he were home right now. He'd even be fine with exercising, knowing he'd be close to Tifa. On the screen, she's scrolling through a PHS while twisting and she's prompting Zangan with names and places from all around the world.

_"Good morning to Yuffie, ten years old, who's working out with us all the way over in Wutai. Wow! We've reached Wutai! That's amazing."_

Wutai, that's amazing indeed. It's a place he's only heard about in stories so far. Stories about a once prosperous nation that had been embroiled in a war with Shinra for a long time. Shinra, of course, emerged victorious, thanks in no small part to the war hero Sephiroth.

Cloud had once dreamed of travelling the world as a SOLDIER, maybe even in the company of Sephiroth. There are so many places to visit and wonders to see, his backwater heart is bursting with longing.

_"A big shout-out also to Zack and Cloudy, who are joining us from Midgar and have been doing this every single day since we started. Well done, Zack and Cloudy! Keep it going. That's amazing."_

"YES! WOOHOO! We got a shoutout!"

Zack's cheer is like a thunderclap and if that wasn't bad enough, Zack actually throws himself at Cloud. Like, bodily tackling him. The force of it is momentous. It nearly knocks Cloud to the ground, and if Cloud had been doing lunges instead of squats, it would have. But instead of letting them both crash to the floor, Zack all but crushes Cloud between his strong arms and whirls him around like he weighed nothing more than an actual wet blanket.

"Aw man, I've been _waiting_ for that to happen! It's almost like I got you to thank for it."

Cloud is stunned. "Me?"

"Of course! I'm pretty sure your name drew Tifa's eyes and that's why she read it to Zangan. Maybe it's her way of saying hello."

"Yeah, I wouldn't be so sure about that..."

Cloud's skin is tingling. Almost as though Zack is squeezing the feeling out of him. It makes him start to panic a little. His breath is coming in short, shallow bursts. Dangling from Zack's arms like this, he feels almost like a puppet.

"Um. Could you let me down now?"

"Oh, uh, sure." Zack laughs sheepishly and does as requested. The solid floor sure feels good beneath Cloud's feet. "Anyway, let's get back to practice."

Zack is already running on the spot, as if trying to catch up with the warm-up they inadvertently missed most of. 

"I'm counting on you not to slack off."

As if Cloud would. With both Tifa and Zack exercising alongside him, it's almost like an obligation to fulfil. He can't let himself fall behind on his training. If he wants to be a SOLDIER, this is the first step of many.

It helps that his head is in too much of a disarray for him to pay attention to his burning muscles. What makes working out with Zack so excruciating on a normal day is the challenge he turns it into: instead of sticking to Zangan's formula (a short period of high intensity exercise followed by a short period of rest), Zack simply powers through the whole session and expects Cloud to do the same. But at least it means Zack is quiet for a time. Cloud throws himself into the practice, so he doesn't have to, either.

The lack of rest in between the exercises may destroy Cloud every time, but that sounds like the very thing he needs right now. There's an agitation running through him all of a sudden that makes him want to crawl out of his skin. Or climb the walls, except Zack would probably chase him over them, thinking it's a game.

Bahamut help him, but how much longer will they be stuck in here together?

It's not like he doesn't like spending time with Zack, it's that he might enjoy it a little too much? Even if Zack keeps making him feel so weird that he doesn't know what to do with himself. At this point, Cloud believes he just gets that way sometimes. He was that way around Tifa, too, after all. It's no surprise, really. He wants their attention, but he doesn't feel like he deserves it yet. He's not strong or suave or anything interesting.

Which is why he doesn't know what to do now that he has Zack's attention – well, as much as anything can hold his attention. To Zack, he's not just another nameless face in a crowd. He's become something of a friend.

And Cloud... likes that. But he's also confused. He's simultaneously happy to be spending time with a guy he looks up to, and at the same time he's feeling dread. What if he'll say something stupid or do something embarrassing and Zack will stop liking him?

What if, when all of this is over, Zack will go back to his SOLDIER buddies and forget all about Cloud? And how would the other cadets handle Cloud's friendship with Zack? Would they view it as cosying up to Zack and haze Cloud for it, or would Cloud gain new recognition among them? Already he feels like the gulf between himself and the rest of his class is widening. At this rate, he'll never become more than acquaintances with any of them.

Cloud sighs into his push-ups and grits his teeth. There's no point in worrying about any of that now. The more he worries, the harder exercising becomes, and he needs all the edge he can get.

He can get through this.

*

At the end of the workout, Cloud doesn't even have the strength to stretch anymore. He just collapses onto his back and gasps for air in a puddle of his own sweat. Every breath hurts and his heart is racing so hard he can feel the blood pumping through his ears.

Zack, of course, is still fresh as a daisy.

"That was great!" he cheers, arms up in the air. "I could go for another round, how about you?"

Cloud would like to make a pained noise to express what he thinks of Zack's idea but for now he has to settle for sucking in breath after breath and hoping that Zack takes the hint.

He doesn't.

"C'mon, Cloud, don't pretend you're tired. You want to be a SOLDIER, right? You got this."

Just as Cloud is about to question his goal for the second time that day, Zack's PHS rings. He's never been happier to hear the sound. Maybe some higher power is looking out for him, after all.

"Morning, Reno!" Zack greets the caller, holding the phone in front of him.

The name makes Cloud's sweat freeze on his skin. A personal call from the Turks is never a good sign, especially when you're not on an assignment with them. The mere glimpse of that shock of red on the screen is enough for Cloud to wrestle himself to a sitting position, no matter how shaky his limbs are. If there's even a chance that Reno might see him in the background, Cloud would prefer to look as inconspicuous as possible so as not to draw attention.

_"Morning. Precisely. I have a question for you guys."_

"Sure. What is it?"

There's a smile in Reno's voice as he enunciates carefully: _"What the fuck?"_

Zack cocks his head, clearly not catching on. "Hm? What the fuck what?"

_"What the fuck are you doing over there every damn morning? It sounds like a herd of Chocobos having a dance party and being none too coordinated about their steps."_

Cloud would have been mortified to be called out by a Turk, let alone one of the senior members, but the admonishment doesn't seem to faze Zack at all.

"Oh, that. We're working out."

_"Working out, huh? This noisily?"_

Reno's tone is somewhere between pleasant and dripping with sarcasm, but the way he's staring at Zack makes Cloud's blood freeze. Not even the confined space of the PHS screen diminishes the annoyance he radiates.

"Yup! There's this programme called P.E. with Zangan that streams—"

_"You know what? I don't care. Just knock it off, okay? Some of us are tryna sleep."_

Zack looks vaguely scandalised to be interrupted as he was about to gush about his favourite programme, but he recovers quickly. Cloud admires that about him. The ability to bounce back from anything.

"You could join us!" Zack suggests brightly.

 _"Huh?"_ Now it's Reno's turn to look scandalised.

"The programme streams early in the morning for a reason. That way, you can start your day feeling energised. It's great! You should try it."

_"Yeah, sounds lovely and all but I'll pass. I'd much prefer it if you could just, you know, _not_ do it, okay? That'd be great."_

"But the programme—"

_"Streams early for a reason, yeah, yeah. It's gonna be available throughout the rest of the day, right? Just pick a different time that's, like, past noon, alright?_ _Byyyeee!"_

With that, the line disconnects and Cloud's heavy breathing once again becomes the only sound to fill the silence. Zack just stares at the dark screen in disbelief for a moment.

"Awww, can you believe that?" Zack spins towards Cloud, pocketing his PHS again.

"He's got a point, you know."

Zack's eyes widen and he takes a step back, as if Cloud had landed a physical punch. "What are you saying?"

"Nothing much." Cloud shrugs and it makes him uncomfortably aware of how drenched his t-shirt is. "Just that I understand. It _is_ early and I'm sure Reno is not the only one who wants to sleep a little more. We're not on duty right now, you know."

Zack rests his hands on his hips and tilts his head to the side, like he understands what Cloud is saying, but doesn't understand. His expression becomes uncharacteristically contemplative.

Cloud sighs. "He's not asking you to quit exercising completely. Just that you do it some time later. I think that's a reasonable request."

"We."

"Huh?"

"That _we_ do it." A big smile blooms on Zack's face again. "You're my exercise buddy, right? We've been doing this together from the start."

Of course Zack had to go and say something like that just when Cloud's heart rate was beginning to slow. Now it's back up there again; Cloud can feel his pulse knocking in his throat.

"S–sure."

"You know, at the beginning of this, Angeal told me to create a routine and to stick to it no matter how I felt. He knows how I get when I have no missions to go on. Just, you know... stir-crazy." Zack purses his lips and traces a circle into the air next to his temple. "As always, Angeal was right – no surprises there. The routine we've built, it's helped immensely. It's been giving me something to focus on and to look forward to. I don't want to give up on that."

He huffs with quiet laughter.

"Who knows, any change to it might make me unbearable to live with, and I don't want that for you."

Cloud must be flushing scarlet by now. Zack is doing all of this not only because he likes it, but in a roundabout way also to benefit Cloud? He doesn't know what to say.

"So, what now?" he asks, if just to steer the conversation into safer waters. "You're not going to watch Zangan later? 

"Nah, of course not." Zack waves him off. "I don't want to miss a single practice!"

"I'm sure he wouldn't mind you tuning in later, though."

Cloud has got to admit, for all that he is flattered about how considerate Zack can be, he's also a little disappointed. He would have enjoyed sleeping in. He would have enjoyed that so much.

"Oh yeah, no doubt, but it's just so much better live, you know? Reno _has_ to see that, too." 

Zack's voice is actually taking on a plaintive tone. Cloud has never heard that on him before. It's kind of funny. It reminds him that for all of Zack's accomplishments, they're not that far apart in age. 

"Next time he calls, we'll just have to make a better case for him to check it out himself. That way, if he's joining in, he won't be bothered anymore, right?"

"...Right."

If Cloud has learned anything today – apart from the fact that you cannot win an argument against Zack Fair – it's that there's at least one other person whose quarantine is probably not going the way they expected it to. That's oddly reassuring, for some reason. He feels less bad for letting the whole situation get to him, knowing that even Reno of the Turks is inconvenienced by it. 

As Cloud nods off hunched against the foot of the bed with his sweat-drenched clothes drying on his skin, he idly wonders what his chances of rooming with Reno would be. It speaks to his exhaustion that he doesn't think of the senior Turk with the usual amount of trepidation. 

All he can think of is how nice it would be to finally get some sleep. That is, unless Zack manages to get Reno to join his early morning workout sessions.

**Author's Note:**

> Again, please check out [PE With Joe](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLyCLoPd4VxBsXs1WmPcektsQyFbXTf9FO), and see for yourself what gets Zack so excited every morning xD
> 
> You can find me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/crookedteaspoon) and [tumblr](https://crookedspoonfic.tumblr.com/) if you want to say hi and/or scream about these dorks. :D


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